Julian Green's career began almost perfectly. Just weeks after his 19th birthday, he checked two huge items off of his career bucket list: (1) sign with Bayern Munich and (2) score in a World Cup.
Green committed to playing for the United States over Germany in the spring of 2014 and was quickly selected for the USMNT's World Cup squad in somewhat controversial fashion -- manager Jurgen Klinsmann chose him on the wing but didn't choose legendary 32-year-old forward Landon Donovan. But Green did his best to justify the decision, scoring and creating two chances in a 16-minute, round-of-16 cameo against Belgium.
He kept producing for the national team, too, even as its fortunes flagged -- he scythed a wicked ball past France's Hugo Lloris, for instance, in a 2018 friendly. In 15 matches and 748 minutes with the national team, he has scored four goals on 25 shots, created eight chances and logged 39 ball recoveries while playing central midfield, left-midfield, left winger, attacking midfield and center-forward.
Since 2014, only four other players have averaged at least 0.5 goals and 1 chance created per 90 minutes for the U.S. team (minimum 500 minutes): Clint Dempsey, Jozy Altidore, Christian Pulisic and Jordan Morris. That's good company, and Green put his production together without a clear position or role.
Now with Greuther Fürth, he's not only a full-time midfielder -- a potential position of need for the U.S. -- but he's also perhaps the best midfielder in the entire German second division.
"In all the youth teams, I played in the midfield," Green said, "but also sometimes on the wing and sometimes as a striker. I've not ever had a real position. And at Bayern I played as a striker, as a winger, and there really wasn't a position for me. But then I came to Fürth and started playing in the middle, and I think that was a very good decision. That's my favorite and best position. With [Fürth manager Stefan Leitl, himself a former Bayern prospect-turned-second division star] our game also changed -- we have the ball a lot, we want to dominate the game, and that's what's good for me."
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Despite a solid showing at the 2014 World Cup, the Klinsmann era faded pretty quickly. The USMNT finished only fourth in the 2015 Gold Cup and the 2016 Copa America, and Klinsmann was fired after a 2-1 loss to Mexico and a 4-0 pounding against Costa Rica in World Cup qualifying.
All the while, Green was struggling to find his place in club soccer. He scored 25 goals for Bayern's junior team, but only once for the senior team, and both a 2014 loan to Hamburg and a 2016 transfer to VfB Stuttgart failed to bear much fruit. He was loaned, and then sold, to Fürth.
Each of Green's managers had seemingly viewed him as something slightly different. He said Bayern's Carlo Ancelotti envisioned him as a striker (Green netted a hat trick in a U.S. exhibition against Inter Milan in 2016). Klinsmann deployed him primarily on the left wing, though U.S. interim manager Dave Sarachan played him just about everywhere in 2018.
"For Julian, I felt he could play a variety of roles in the attacking third," Sarachan said. "We saw him as sort of a guy who could play in one of four roles -- he could play underneath the No. 9 [center-forward], in the No. 10 [attacking midfield] role, he could play on the right and the left in what you'd call a 7 or 11 role [wings], and he could play in sort of the No. 8 role [box-to-box midfield]. So, 8, 10, 7 or 11 -- he's got qualities that can create chances."
The downside of being a jack of all trades, however, is that you risk being seen as a master of none. As Green was attempting to get his footing in Fürth, he lost his spot with the national team, a symbol of a divisive manager and failed era. He hasn't made an appearance since manager Gregg Berhalter was appointed in December 2018.
Off the radar at Fürth, he has found himself again. Let's do some whittling.
Of the 442 players who have played at least once in the 2. Bundesliga this season, 73 have logged at least two assists.
Of those 73, 17 have also recorded at least 75 ball recoveries.
Of those 17, eight have won more than 50% of their duels.
Of those eight, only Green has also scored at least five goals.
It's admittedly difficult to properly measure midfield play with statistics, as a midfielder can be asked to do a little of everything. But passing well, snatching up loose balls, winning one-on-ones and scoring seems to be a sign that you're pretty good at your job, and Green has been better at this combination than anyone. The graders at WhoScored.com have noticed his play as well -- he's in their 2. Bundesliga's Best XI.
Fürth is, in itself, a fascinating story. In their own sort of Moneyball fashion, the Kleeblatter ("Cloverleaves") have compiled a young roster -- of the 20 players to see the field this year, 15 are 25 or younger -- full of former big-club prospects from Bayern, Wolfsburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach, etc. They play an almost recklessly optimistic style, relying on both full-backs and wide midfielders to push upfield and create numbers advantages in attack, while midfielders from the other side can flood the box. Green has scored from close range in back-to-back matches.